<> <> <> <> * Hestia skates in on rollerblades, dual-wielding SMGs! She fires into the crowd at random and they drop power ups! * Hestia actually comes in through the back, as if she were trained in stealth, which she is. * Tomas is already there, in the galley, cooking things. He's gotten the cooking bug stronger than ever. * Zeke is apparently the strongest cooking bug in existance. Er, wait, he doesn't mean that. Actually, his birdsect is just waiting in the lobby, on the back of one of the couches. He must be in his room or shaking hands outside or something. (Man can I rescind my rescinding and go back to shooting people for powerups.) * Kyle walks into the main talkey room, sipping on a Space Coffee. He isn't trained in stealth, and he doesn't look like he is, so he might have been a little bothered outside. Then again, people tend not to bother him anyways. "How's it goin', dudes?" * Amadeus comes in through the main entrance, and not stealthily at all. He's plugged into a datapad and doesn't seem to have noticed the crowd in a haze of research obliviousness. Hm? Fine, all considered. * Amadeus walks over to a chair and sits, for that is what one does on chairs. * Lexi walks up the ramp thing to the ship, then turns around and gives a big wave and smile to the fans before heading into the ship. * Hestia finally enters the ship. She is holding a small bag of chocolate croissaints, because she is High Class. (Space Coffee is better than normal Coffee. 'cuz it's from Space.) * Tomas arrives in the lobby from the galley and plops on the couch, "What's the word?" (The bird is the word!) ( *glares at the birdsect* ) (o_o) (This katamari does not please Us, little prince. *eyelasers*) (This katamari menaces with spikes of iron.) * Hestia crosses to her workdesk and takes a fragment of croissaint from the bag, nibbling on it and typing on a pad. She doesn't look up when she speaks. "So tell me about these... things you found out in space." (...one had a goatee and there was another that...) Mammals, about so tall. * Tomas turns and looks over the back of the couch, "Things? You mean the Sloppets? They were these weird sloth-looking things that walked in figure eights. When you messed with one the rest would get really angry and start howling." * Amadeus nods. "They were also protecting a door of some sort that the Black Orchid crew were trying to get through." Yeah, and when they got mad they got hypped up on adrenaline, or speed, or somethin' and started shrieking like crazy. Loud enough to shatter glass. * Hestia raises an eyebrow, stopping mid-bite, then goes back to eating. "We got a picture of this door?" * Tomas looks toward A-Man. Totally do. * Hestia typeity typeity. "As for my end of the bargain, by the way, whoever 'Four' is he or she is a damned cipher. If I didn't hate it so much I could almost respect it." Couldn't find anything at all? Nothing. It's like there's nothing to find. * Amadeus nods and moves, jacking into the computer's system and uploading a picture he took of the door to the main screen in the lobby. I'm telling you, even some hermit living in the PT sector of RNYC under a box and living on ramen has SOMETHING in a database, SOMEWHERE. It's unnerving. * Tomas examines the main screen, "It can't be a coincidence that the sloppets walked in a figure eight and there's a figure eight on the door. What could even cause that, doc?" <> (Picture of door somewhere?) (Also: http://www.iamtrex.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/funny-pictures-angry-sloth.jpg ) An ice skater could make a figure-8. Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, I don't think that helps at all. ( http://i51.tinypic.com/25rnxon.png ) * Hestia tappity tap tap. She glances at the pic on her pad, then actually rotates it 90 degrees. "Infinity symbol." (It was further described as a 2D rendition of a mobius strip.) A distant possibility. I find it highly unlikely that whoever put that there has the same symbol for infinity that we do. Why? * Hestia turns the pad around. "It's a shape that constantly feeds on itself... I mean, a circle is probably more universal, but it seems like this might endure regardless of culture." Well, it's also a mobius strip. If you look at it that way. And it's hard to draw a circle like that, but an infinity symbol might get the point across better? * Hestia shrugs. "String theory, maybe? Could be a recipe for donuts for all we know... the infinity thing just leapt out at me." (The device is in Amadeus' lab, I assume?) * Amadeus nods. "And justifiably so." (Sure!) * Hestia shakes her head. "Prophecy of ultimate doom, rattling around in my head. Don't like it one bit." * Tomas is reminded, "Actually, we have something even more interesting than an etching on a door. We got the door open and found something. You still have it, doc?" Yes, it's in the lab. I'll get it, hang on. * Amadeus unplugs, leaving the picture on the screen, and walks off to retrieve said artifact. ( ...we don't get to pull the head on the bust and take the fireman's poles down?) * Zeke's birdsect tilts its head at Hestia as it keeps watching. Zeke comes over comms and says, ~I can retrieve it, Doctor.~ (Crumbs, chief!) Ultimate doom isn't a good thing to have hanging overhead. I mean, it's like you've got some totally awesome stuff, and then all of a sudden DOOM, and then ya got nothin'. * Amadeus stops and coms back, "Thanks." And turns right back around for the lobby! I still think the doom part is nonsense. But what if the sleythin found something they INTERPRETED as ultimate doom but is something else entirely? * Zeke tromps his way down to the lab to grab him an artifact. And not to eat it. You know how long it takes the lizards to do anything. They'd have sat on it and thought their brains out at it for centuries. (remember, specific prophecy of doom = Walphin prophecy. Vague handwavy doom promises for next Thursday = Sleythin) (I know. Hence my comment.) (They fished it around and came up with Vague Doom which might be Something Else.) * Tomas shrugs, "I'd still rather not destroy everything if I can help it." (what would he cook?) * Zeke then tromps his way up to the lobby, holding the amulet in one hand. "Good morning." (Nothing! or everything. They're the same at that point.) (Amulet. Yes, Zeke is holding the Aurin. MAKE A WISH) * Hestia eyes the amulet! Soon it will lead them to the gold condor airship and the Seven Cities of Gold. Morning, bright eyes! <> * Zeke looks at Tomas oddly, then says, "My eyes are dimmer than the rest of my face." He then walks over to the table and lays the amulet out as his birdsect takes a fly-hop to his shoulder. Okay, so the sloths had a cult about the number 8 and that was their high priest's torc? I don't think so. It was laying on the ground behind the door. It is also the pattern that they moved in passively on flat ground. Pattern doesn't say much, does it? They saw the door and imprinted the symbol in their heads or something. Maybe they worshipped it as a god? Unknown. * Zeke's third arm pats the birdsect on the head awkwardly before he adds, "By and large, they seemed unintelligent, but the relic speaks towards something that was not." I doubt the sloths had anything to do with the amulet. It took all of my and Zeke's strength to even open the door. Perhaps they were destroyed by the infection. The strength those doors closed with wasn't normal, either. * Hestia runs her hands through her hair. "This is silly. It's total TVNet fantasy bullshit. Amulets and mysterious prophecies and shit." You expecting something different from TVNet? Something different from reality. <> * Kyle pings back! Preston guys, I'll put him on. * Tomas dives at Kyle, "Wait. The amulet." * Lexi boggles at Tomas. "You Mas. Aren't you sort of forgetting someone... Is what I do completely invisible to you guys?... " Pause. "Oh wait... it is. Anyway! I helped too, you know." (Ah ha ha, Kyle's imprinted off Lexi at the moment, isn't he? Man that's going to suck for Tomas.) (ha. I left you out on purpose, Dre, just for that reason.) (If Kyle actually responds.) * Kyle pings him on! (Oh, wait, doesn't.) (Yeah, really.) (Best.) * Kyle laughs. "Yeah, seriously. We were helping you out with that door like crazy." Anyways, hide the damn amulet so we can answer him. <> "Ahh... I caught wind that you were at all at the ship today, so I thought it an opportune time to call." Hey dude, what's up? * Amadeus turns his attention to the screen. * Hestia says nothing. She just gives Preston an even look. Eventually, the wall behind where she's looking bursts into flame. "The events of the past few weeks have certainly put, ah, a strain on our professional relationship. I wanted to apologize, again." * Amadeus nods. * Hestia shrugs. "Of the people who done us wrong, you're not as high on the list as you think." Appreciate that you're at least sorry for doin' what you did. Or at least are acting that way. * Kyle smirks. * Lexi shrugs. "It's coo' P. Dawg. But if you ever screw us over like that again... I will have to kill you. Just so you know." She nods and smiles. <> "I assure you, my contrition's sincere. The only goal was to make us both lots of money - I never anticipated any of what happened. But with your suspension rescinded, it begs the question of whether you still want me to act as your solicitor or not." I think it depends on if you plan on doing things like they were going before, right guys? No more jobs from people I can't identify, be it their line of work or their species. "I've already taken down the bidding site. But people are just calling me directly, now." * Hestia stretches. "At the very least you can usefully filter out the nutjobs." <> "Are you all agreed?" Totally. Although I think your open-ended approach did net us big contracts, a *little* caution would be good. * Zeke's holohead nods slowly, then says, "We have learned much due to the open-ended approach." Saying we'll consider a job would be better than flat out acceptance, I think. A couple days won't kill people who want exploration done. "Acceptance is up to you, at this point. I'm just the go-between." (Okay, if that's all the responses I get, then I guess that's it.) (zeke <3 preston) * Lexi shrugs. "With the aforementioned killing you provision, I'm good." (Sorry, I'm sorta zonked from cold meds and it's late.) She will too. Heck, I might go after you if you screw us like that again. (I'm still not sure what day it is after last night.) <> "The first request we got was through ATC, actually. Before there was even talk of lifting your suspension. They said they'd just wait." <> "Looks like they think Epsilon Reticuli is worth sending the best for. It's about 60 light years out, so it's a bit of a haul, but nothing you can't handle." * Hestia stretches. "Hmmm." (I started to say something then realized Preston still doesn't know about the sleythinpedia.) (It's true!) (Yeah, there's not much to say with him hovering.) * Zeke states, "Have they mentioned what they expect?" <> "A habitable moon around a gas giant." (EWOKS) (Europa?) (... no?) (Prothean Ewoks.) (Wookies!) "That's all they gave me. So probably not a rock run." * Hestia looks around. "It's not as if we're terribly busy. If it's a milk run, let's go and look. If it turns out to be lethal, we know exactly where to mail our grievances." * Zeke smiles. "An improvement." All for that. "Alright. I'll contact them shortly. Ah... and thank you." <> * Tomas immediately turns to Tia, "What's the db say?" * Hestia watches him click off. "Let's look, though that's my question. ATC knows we have the sleythin data, and they know we know THEY have it. So why hire us?" Left hand right hand business, I'd guess. * Zeke replies, "Sometimes... organizations do not communicate correctly." * Hestia laughs. "That's true, but probably not in the way you mean it. Those guys we met seemed... top down." * Hestia typeity. "...ah. There's the shoe dropping." Hey, if they know we know, we've got a higher success rate from their eyes. Why NOT send us? We can prepare better for what we'll run into. * Hestia pulls up a suitable-for-room-viewing size screen of the DB entry and slides it across into visible space, like all the cool kids are doing with touch holo displays nowadays. * Amadeus looks at the entry with interest. * Hestia taps her fingers at a couple key paragraphs. "Spatial anomalies." * Kyle looks at the awesome high-tech screen, because we totally have that and it's totally something better than CSI tech. (Zoom and enhance!) (it's the future) Oh? <> * Hestia shrugs. "Doesn't say much about them. I think they got these from long-range scans. Still, it might explain why ATC would hire us for this. We'd be able to figure out this is what they're really interested in, but Preston would be in the dark about their true motives." <> * Amadeus nods. "I see." Well, I wouldn't be adverse to taking a look. So what is it we're going into here? * Hestia shrugs. "Who knows? Wormhole, gaping portal to another dimension, faulty sensor log, could be anything." (Wow, got late. Let's wrap it up so we can go there next week.) ([AND SO LEXI SLINGSHOT THE SHIP AROUND THE SUN SO WE CAN FIND HUMPBACK WHALES. NEXT WEEK: NUCLEAR WESSELS!]) (Clearly it was some cheese on the lens.) (Niiiice.) <>